Exelon's profit up but slightly misses estimates

(AP) — Exelon Corp. said its third-quarter net income rose 12 percent as stifling summer heat led more people to crank up their air conditioners. The company also raised its forecast for the year.

The Chicago-based utility company, which operates the nation's largest fleet of nuclear power plants, earned $845 million, or $1.27 per share, compared with $757 million, or $1.14 per share, a year earlier.

Taking out some one-time gains and losses related to bets on energy prices, rate settlements and other items, the company earned $739 million, or $1.11 per share, compared with $633 million, or 96 cents per share.

Revenue rose 22 percent to $5.29 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude most one-time items from their estimates, had expected a profit of $1.12 per share on revenue of $4.76 billion. It was the first time in eight quarters that Exelon missed estimates, according to Bloomberg.

For the full year, the company expects to make an adjusted profit of $3.95 to $4.10 per share. That's up from a previous forecast of $3.80 to $4.10 per share.

Exelon serves about 5.4 million customers, operating in Illinois with its ComEd utility and in Pennsylvania with PECO.